STGB Chapter 732

Episode 732: Clown (1)

“The last stand.”

It refers to the phrase “fighting with your back to the water,” which metaphorically means that there is no retreat when striving to achieve something.

And I really like this saying.

Isn’t it true?

It contains a certain truth.

People exert all their strength when they are desperate.

Moreover, even without the underlying philosophy, if there’s water behind you, you won’t worry about what’s behind but can focus all your nerves on the enemy in front of you.

It has a practical aspect.

Just like now.

Crash!

There are enemies in front of me that I must defeat.

Whoosh!

Behind me, the city burns fiercely.

Thanks to that, no enemies can appear from behind, but our retreat is also blocked.

However, that doesn’t matter much.

From the start, I had no intention of fleeing.

Crash!

In a way, this is how Lee Han-soo has always lived.

He always had to fight on roads with no escape.

Because there was no other choice.

‘Children’s ward.’

I fought against illness with all my strength.

‘Amusement park.’

I fought against the pain of abandonment.

‘My room.’

And from then on, I continued an endless fight against loneliness, a fight with no winners.

[We were born as warriors. If we don’t fight, we die.]

In some ways, it’s a life similar to a barbarian’s.

But in reality, there is a crucial difference between me and them.

[You still haven’t gotten rid of that habit of running away.]

If there were no other options, I fought.

And that means I always ran when I had a choice.

In fact, whenever there was a choice, I always chose to flee.

Crash!

I hated fighting.

I knew better than anyone how hard it was.

More importantly, there wasn’t much I wanted badly enough to fight for.

Crash!

Unlike now.

“Ravennnnnnn!!”

The moment I shouted out the name, my comrade who had followed my foolish plan cast a spell.

[Arua Raven casts 4th rank attack magic [Water Cannon].]

[Arua Raven casts 6th rank support magic [Elemental Conversion]…]

The city’s flames spread even more fiercely.

Whoooosh!

Astaroth, following behind me, scattered powerful auras with every sword strike, proving why he was the king’s bodyguard.

“…A monster!”

“Where the hell did that kind of monster come from?!”

The battle was overwhelming, making the difference in numbers meaningless.

Of course, it had to be.

In this world, even a character known merely as a corpse collector can be considered an army by themselves.

‘And as for this guy, the king’s closest, there’s no need to even mention his skills.’

I was no different.

Now that my shield-baba character is nearly complete, no matter who they bring, I don’t think I’ll lose.

‘The setup is good too.’

What I liked most was not having to defend the rear.

Boom! Boom!

As I charged into the enemy lines like a tank, shaking the ground, Astaroth followed, shredding everything like a blender.

“Behell—raaaaaa!!”

“Don’t get too excited. Since there are only soldier-class enemies, the real ones must be further behind.”

Giving advice as if you’re trying to spoil the mood, huh?

If I were king, you wouldn’t have dared say a word.

‘…Not that he’s wrong.’

These guys are just stalling. The real battle hasn’t even started yet.

The corpse collector, the blood knight, and other Orculus members haven’t shown themselves.

Yes, so…

Crash! Crackle!

I need to move even faster while I can.

Once they’re ready, it’ll be much harder to break through.

Tap tap tap tap!

I picked up speed.

Crash! Crash!

The faster my arms and legs moved, the louder the impact sounds. But at some point, the enemy forces began to retreat.

“Fall back!”

“Keep your distance! Just maintain distance!”

The more we charged, the more they pulled back.

Of course, even though they said that, it was no different from outright fleeing, showing their backs.

Because we were running at full power as well.

“Arghhh!!”

Crash!

“Sp-spare me—!”

Slash!

How long did I continue chasing them, crushing the heads of the stragglers?

‘So, if I’ve gotten about halfway…’

If I repeat what I’ve done just once more, I’ll reach the 7th district, which is practically my hometown. But that means I’ve already burned more than half of the 8th district?

“Aah… no—!”

Crash!

Burning down the streets as we played this deadly game of tag, I briefly felt like a villain, but I didn’t particularly feel guilty.

This is a world where it’s hard to survive if you see the enemy as ‘people.’

Buzz!

It seems this easy run ends here.

Flash!

A sudden, blinding flash enveloped the area, as an overwhelming wave of magical power shot straight at me from afar.

[Defense successful.]

[Aegis’ Barrier absorbs all damage.]

Luckily, my shield was bigger, so I managed to block it.

But I couldn’t relax yet.

The fact that they’d deployed their elite forces meant they were now prepared to stop me.

‘Now I too…’

It’s time to prepare to fight with full strength.

[The character casts [Iron Fortress].]

[The character casts [Greedy Scales].]

A group of about twenty people began to appear from the front as soon as both the Knight Crush Mode and Wizard Crush Mode were activated.

Since the game was one where equipment mattered, it was natural that there was no uniformity in their outfits. However, despite their unique appearances, an inexplicable aura of elite soldiers could be felt from them.

Not that it made me nervous or anything.

“This is as far as you go.”

A very familiar face emerged from among the ones that looked elite. The moment I saw that face, the group’s aura dropped sharply.

“No matter how skilled you are, it would be impossible for you to hold out against this many people. Heh…”

Well, earlier he was fleeing for his life, even abandoning his comrades.

Seeing him suddenly straighten his shoulders because he found some new friends—.

“Abet Necrapeto! You bastard!!”

At that moment, Lilianne Vivienne screamed hysterically upon spotting him.

“P-Pishishit… Miss Vivienne, it’s been a while? You seem unharmed, I’m glad! Now that I’ve returned to rescue you, why don’t you come over here—.”

“What are you talking about! You’re dead meat, you bastard!!”

“Pishishit… Should I take that to mean you’re betraying Orqulis and joining their side?”

“You betrayed us first!”

“How did I betray you? In the end, Miss Vivienne, you’re neither dead nor hurt, and here I am, coming to your rescue with reinforcements.”

“…What? Yandel! No, Brother Yandel! Please, help me kill that guy! I’ll do whatever you ask from now on…!”

Vivienne, her eyes completely turned with rage, started making promises I never even asked for.

The corpse collector clicked his tongue as he watched her.

“Tsk, tsk…. I guess it’s already too late. They say a woman who goes to a barbarian is lost forever….”

“Aaaargh!!”

Sadly, seeing her scream and shake with fury, it was clear that Vivienne had completely lost in this verbal battle.

But having the black magic user, who needed to fight alongside us, be this enraged was not a good situation.

“Pathetic.”

So, I threw out a comment to intervene.

“The jealousy of a small man.”

“…What?”

Sure enough, he reacted immediately, just as I expected.

“W-What did you just say…?”

“I said, the jealousy of a small man is pathetic.”

“W-What are you talking about! At the time, we were in a fight, and of course—!”

“I was talking about your height.”

As soon as I cut him off and mentioned his height, he froze, as if he hadn’t expected that.

In game terms, he was now in a groggy state.

“Pathetic.”

“…”

“Even your excuses.”

With that final blow, he was completely frozen, unable to say another word.

“Wow….”

Even Vivienne, who had been screaming in rage, was now stunned, her mouth wide open in admiration at the overwhelming verbal exchange.

Seeing how quickly he was stripped of all his dignity, it seemed her anger had cooled somewhat.

“This conversation is over.”

A man who seemed to be the enemy’s field commander stepped forward, pushing the corpse collector back.

Hmm, this one was new.

“Bjorn Yandel, your legend ends here.”

“Huh?”

“But don’t worry. I will inherit the glory you’ve built.”

I thought this guy might be someone impressive, but….

His lines were completely that of an extra.

Whoosh-!

I chuckled and threw a hand axe.

“Remember the name of the man who will kill you. My name is Nort—!”

“Oh, so you can block that at least.”

“…Ugh! Kill him!”

His speech was cut off as he gave the order, and the battle began.

—

I want to be special.

Is there anyone who doesn’t have such a desire?

Of course not.

All humans wish to be special.

That was true even for a white boy born in America.

The white boy loved cartoons from a young age.

The kind of American cartoons filled with clichéd heroes.

But the characters the boy loved most were always the ‘villains,’ the ones who left a deep impression before exiting the stage.

Villains seemed far more special than the heroes, who did nothing but spew hollow words, despite being lucky enough to have gained power.

The boy admired villains, but reality was harsh.

I am not special.

As he grew up, the boy naturally accepted that truth, just like many others who grow up and realize they’re ordinary.

The boy became a man.

I am ordinary.

No matter how hard he tried, that fact would never change.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Until he downloaded the cheat mod for a game he’d given up on because it was too difficult, and cleared it.

“Starting transmission.”

The kind of thing he’d only seen in comics, novels, and movies unfolded before his eyes.

The game world appeared in front of him.

‘Abet Necrapeto.’

The once ugly and fat man now had a new name.

In this world, he was no longer ordinary.

He had knowledge that NPCs didn’t, and a future that welcomed him to become even more special.

Even if he was branded an ‘evil spirit’ and shunned by others.

He considered that rejection to be another part of what made him special.

And in reality, he was quite special.

He had talent and quickly advanced to become stronger among the ‘evil spirits.’

He gained fame and the envy of others.

But the more he achieved, the more reckless he became.

Just like the villains in those cartoons, who had to do everything they wanted.

[Why do you have to die? Because you’re weak!]

[Oh, and I happened to need a suitable corpse!]

To become stronger, he didn’t care about methods or means, and eventually, this led to his downfall. He was investigated, and his identity as an ‘evil spirit’ was revealed.

One day, as he awaited his execution:

[There’s nowhere in this city where you can live.]

He experienced a fateful encounter.

[Follow me, Abet Necrapeto. I’ll create a world where you can live.]

Orqulis.

A crazy terrorist group that dared to challenge the royal family in this city.

There was no reason not to take their hand.

Even if it weren’t his only option for survival, the group seemed cool to him.

He followed their leader to the underground city, and….

[The corpse collector…!]

It didn’t take long for him to gain notoriety that surpassed his previous fame.

[Pishishit-!!]